It All Ends in Black
by unicornhime
Summary: When Edward is turned, he starts running and doesn't stop. This new world is black and white until he runs into something that leads him to question what he thought he knew. EPOV
1. Black

_Disclaimer: Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, no copyright infringement is intended._

_AN: For those of you coming over from Love Is, don't worry, I'm still working on it. This was just in my head and wouldn't go away. _

_

* * *

  
_

**Chapter One - Black**

The last clear thing I remembered of my human life was not darkness.

It was my mother's face as she kissed my forehead goodnight before the flu hit, hard and fast. It was a warm September night. Days were growing short and nights longer. We'd had another argument about the war and she'd urged me to reconsider for the thousandth time, telling me that war was not the glorious picture the papers were painting. My father had been away.

I didn't know he was still at the office, coughing up blood.

Less than a blur of a day later, he was gone, and the reaper was waiting for my mother and me as we tossed and turned on hospital cots, drifting in and out of consciousness.

The hospital was filled with sick bodies, crying children, and frantic nurses. Small, clear vials of various medicines clinked anxiously together as nurses struggled to keep up with the overwhelming influx of patients. There was no known cure and not enough of hopeful cures to go around, and it was the nurses' decision to choose who even had a fighting chance.

Dirty needles littered the counters and bedside tables as some nurses tried to fight the disease with fresh blood. An irony that was not lost on me when I became aware of what I had become.

I do not remember when the reaper finally claimed my mother. I do not remember being wheeled out of the cramped and humid room. I do not remember anything said to me.

I do not remember anything but the pain and the darkness of my rebirth.

It was excruciating. Unending. Incomprehensible.

_Pain._

There was no other way to describe it. It didn't compare to anything I had ever known. It simply _was_.

The time I had broken an arm playing football with the boys in my neighborhood as a child was a dream in comparison. Every sickness I'd ever had was a blessing. I didn't know it possible to _feel_ this much.

When physical torture finally ended, the mental torture began before I could even open my eyes. The voices in my head. There was only one to begin with.

It was an unfamiliar man's voice. It irritated me, like I should know it, because it kept calling my name.

"Edward… Edward, it's over now. Edward, open your eyes."

I did as he said and saw a man in doctor's clothing leaning over me. It was then I realized where I was – a modest bedroom in a strange home. I couldn't remember how I moved from the hospital to here. Panic stirred in the pit of my stomach and the painful throbbing in my throat drew my attention. It paled in comparison to what I had just been put through, but it was still impossible to ignore.

I glared at the man accusingly. He held himself carefully, and was he was clearly watching my every move. I did not want to trust him. He had brought me here, had put me through that pain, had thrust me into a world of uncertainty.

And his eyes…they glowed bright red. It was unnatural. _He_ was unnatural.

_I _was unnatural.

So I shied away, and bolted.

It was only an instant before I was out the door and fading into the shadows of the coming night. The stranger called after me, but I ignored him and kept running. Another instant and instinct took over. The voices became mute and my throat became soothed.

It was then I realized what I had become; I was a creature of the night, a thing that survived on the still warm blood of living creatures. I'd heard stories as a boy, but never gave them much credence. How wrong I had been.

Vampire.

The word rang in my head as I tossed the broken corpse in front of me aside. I didn't know how or why, but there was no changing what I had become. I could not run from what I had become.

But that did not stop me from trying. I ran. I fled. I fought to escape the darkness.

It took me years to accept the fact that my attempts were futile. More years to accept what I had become. And more years to embrace it.

But I did embrace it. I became one with the night. The night became one with me. It was a dangerous dance, but we spun and leapt together, claiming partner after partner.

In time, I came across others of my kind, others that brought me further into the darkness.

One in particular, showed me that this life wasn't the burden that I'd originally perceived. He was running, like me, but unlike me, he was running towards this life, not away from it. He was running in search of something new, not hiding from the unknown.

He was much older than I, and had seen this life as a great adventure. I learned from him to forget the curse that rested on my shoulders.

I first saw him as he was finished a meal. We were in the frozen North, both of us searching for lost hikers, people that wouldn't attract attention.

He looked up at me in surprise, leaving the body to make a meal for other animals. "Hello there!'

I eyed him warily, nodding my greetings. I had not spoken to anyone in years.

"You're a nervous one, aren't you?"

I kept my distance, but his thoughts were kind. Curious, but kind. '_He probably doesn't see many of our kind out here. I haven't run into anyone in ages.'_

"My apologies," I said stiffly, formally. "But I have never met another one like me."

"Never?" he asked incredulously.

"No," I replied simply.

'_I'll be damned. No wonder he's so jumpy.' _"You must be fairly young then. Do you even know your sire?"

"No." I didn't know anyone. Even if the man I saw when I first woke up was indeed my sire, I certainly did not know him.

He questioned me relentlessly about what I had done with my time since I'd been turned. In turn, he told me of his adventures and others like us he had met along the way as we continued to hunt that day.

And so began our strange companionship, this Garrett and I. Over the next several years, he taught about the history of our people, how I had become more than I once was, not less. When I confided in him the voices I heard, he was startled but not shocked. He told me of other gifts those like us possessed. He himself had nothing like it, but he wasn't disheartened. In his opinion, he was already so strong, he didn't need any extra boost.

During my time with him, I grew comfortable with myself. I laughed for the first time in decades when a particularly large pack of mountain lions took him by surprise, proving to be more intelligent and feistier than he had anticipated, leaving him with shreds of cloth for clothing.

What had once frightened me now held a certain allure. The dark was comforting to me. It was safety. The inky blackness covered my flaws. The creature I'd become was perfection.


	2. White

_AN: Much love to my beta, apresmoi, for putting up with my shenanigans. _

_Disclaimer: Characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer. It's her sandbox, I'm just playing in it._

* * *

**White**

Nothing perfect ever lasts, so it was only too soon before their easy life became complicated and the perfection lost.

However, there was a time of perfection. Garrett taught me how to cover my tracks, and the consequences if I were ever found out.

"I've never encountered them," he said, "But I've heard tales. The Volturi are a fearsome powerful lot that I would rather not meet. I'm quite content with how I'm doing now."

They did encounter some nomadic wanderers, and exchanged information and entertainment. Garrett was a wonderful storyteller, and I never grew tired of hearing his tales of close calls and near discoveries. They collected news of the end of the War, and of the beginning of the Depression.

While we had no need to worry about the financial crisis, it was emotionally depressing to hear nothing but thoughts of bankruptcy, foreclosure, debt, and starvation.

So it was back to the snowy north. The deceptively clear, white North. There is where the perfection ended.

Her name was Kate. She was beautiful, of course, with her long, golden blond hair and thin frame. She held little interest to me, but Garrett was immediately smitten.

We weren't hunting, we were swimming, when we first saw her. Which of course meant that we weren't clothed – swimming attire was a commodity we did not bother with.

We'd discovered a hot spring and were simply relaxing in the warm water, letting it heat our deathly cold skin. Kate and her clan must have known about it, because we heard them approach.

"I still can't believe the fight that creature had in him! He almost got away."

"He probably would have, if I weren't so thirsty, out of sheer respect for his will to live."

"Are you sure the spring is this way?" A third voice chimed in.

"Of course, I'm sure. We've only been here a million times, and it's not like I'm likely to forget."

Garrett and I both started and stared at each other for the brief moment we had before they would see us, neither of us knowing quite what to do. It was clear from their tone and their conversation that they were females of our kind, and it had been some time since we had met any of those.

Then, they were there. Three of them, shimmering slightly in the afternoon sun that peeked through the cover of the trees. They stopped short the instant they caught sight of us.

They openly gawked as Garrett stood out of reflex to greet them – our manners were not so far buried that we forgot that.

What we did forget, however, was our state of dress. Or rather, undress.

The strawberry blonde smirked, "Well hello gentlemen. It is not so often we are granted such a treat."

Her two companions couldn't help but giggle and I remembered myself. I scrambled to pull some clothes on, but Garrett simply returned her smirk.

"I could say the same thing, my dear."

She laughed. "My name is Tanya," she introduced herself, then gestured to the others, first the one with the golden mane, then the woman with the short white-blonde crop. "These are my sisters Kate and Irina."

"Pleasure," he said congenially. "I'm Garrett, and the modest fellow behind the tree is Edward."

I frowned, not approving of my introduction.

"The pleasure is ours," Kate said, still grinning. "We were just saying how lonely we were for some company and look what chance throws us!"

"You must come visit with us," Irina chimed in.

"Yes, there are two more to our clan, and I'm sure they'd love to meet you," Tanya spoke, looking at me specifically.

I glanced uneasily at Garrett, but he only had eyes for Kate now. "We'd be honored."

And so it began. We met the others, Carmen and Eleazar, with minimal discomfort. The three girls of course teased us about our first impression, but after the initial awkwardness, they were pleasant to be around. Garrett, of course, found one of them in particular pleasant to be around, and was rarely away from her side.

They were interesting, I would give them that. The whole clan was peculiar in one particular way: they did not drink human blood. I was intrigued.

"But why not?" I debated with Tanya. This was becoming a regular pastime; she would lounge on the sofa while I paced in front of her, her golden eyes watching me. "It's what we are."

"Just because it's how our kind traditionally acts does not make it what we are now," she replied simply, shrugging.

"But why fight tradition? It's what we are, and it's what they are. We are the predator and they are the prey. The little white lambs, dumb and unaware of their own precarious position."

"They are not all so unaware. You will be surprised how intelligent some of them can be."

I laughed. "I have yet to meet any human that impresses me. They all are focused on one thing – themselves."

She smiled fondly, "Ah, little Edward, you will meet someone someday that will change your mind. I only hope I am there to witness it."

I was still unconvinced, but Garrett interrupted to inform me that he was going hunting with Kate – her style. It was just another challenge to him, to see if he could do it. I didn't see a point to it, so I declined. Besides, I knew what his mind told me that his mouth would not: he wanted to be alone with her.

Weeks passed and the pair grew closer and closer together until there was no one but the other in their worlds. Tanya and I continued our debates, but I knew she was simply humoring me. She was interested in me the way Garrett was interested in Kate, she made that much very clear.

She challenged me to a game of chess. She was, of course, aware of my mind-reading ability, as was the rest of her family, and she used that to her advantage as much as possible.

I already won several times by picking the strategy out of her head, but she was still convinced she could beat me. So I humored her the way she humored my debates.

The game started the same way the others did and I was confident it would end the same way, too.

Until she started thinking of her past conquests.

It wasn't been long after Garrett and I arrived that we discovered Tanya and her sisters founded the base of the Succubus myth. They were anything but shy about it. So when she started thinking about positions and men instead of chess pieces, it was only natural that it threw me off.

She saw me hesitate as she moved her white knight with her slender hand, taking a pawn of mine with her. That was fine, I didn't need that pawn anyway. "What's the matter, Edward?" She murmured. "My mind no longer open to you?"

I gritted my teeth as she arched an eyebrow and looked at me pointedly while her mind was reviewing the finer points of one night in Minneapolis.

"I don't know what you mean," I moved my rook.

"Of course you don't." She moved her own rook, remembering another night in New York, paying close attention to what she was wearing that time. Or not wearing.

I screw my eyes closed, but that only made it worse. She grinned, she could smell victory.

"Check."

My eyes shot back open as the others gathered around. I had been in check before, but it was always according to plan. My audience knew this, and they also knew that I had not planned this one.

I didn't say anything, but moved my king out of check. Irina whistled as she eyed the board, obviously knowing what Tanya was up to.

Three moves and several vivid memories later, Tanya made her last move.

"Checkmate."

I stared at the board, then knocked my king over in defeat. She had won.

Our audience cheered, and Eleazar clapped me on the back. "Don't feel bad, Edward, no one is immune to their charm."

"Charm," I scoffed. But I was man enough to know when I was beat. "Well done, Tanya," I sighed. "I may be scarred for life now, but you did in fact beat me at chess."

"Anytime." She smiled triumphantly. She picked up her white queen – the winning piece – and twirled it between her fingers. "And if anything in there interested you, I'd be more than happy to elaborate. Or demonstrate."

"I'm sure you would, though I'll have to decline." I didn't want to be too rude though, "Thanks for the offer."

***

When I left, I left on my own. Garrett grew fond of Kate and wasn't ready to leave, but I was growing restless. And as much as the Denali clan respected my decisions, I could hear their sorrow every time I returned from hunting.

So it was with hugs and promises to visit that I set out, heading south.

It was difficult to leave Garrett behind; we had been companions for a long time. However, it was clear that Kate was to be his new companion, and I didn't want to interfere. I told myself that I would always come back, and that there was something calling me somewhere else, something that caused this restlessness.

I hugged the shoreline; it had been years since I'd been in such close proximity to the ocean, and I found the sound of the waves oddly relaxing.

Plus, it was nearly always overcast, and there were scattered towns that made for good hunting. The constant rainfall made for easy disposal and was also strangely comforting.

Somehow, I found myself in a tiny town called Forks.


	3. Grey

**Grey**

I had not planned to stop in the sad excuse for a town for any length of time. It was difficult to remain inconspicuous when everyone knew everyone else's name, birthday, and what they had for lunch.

But as I passed by, I caught a surprising scent. It pricked at my memory, the memory of my past life. It stuck me like the thorn of a dead rose, unexpected, but still oddly painful. I'd buried my old life long ago and didn't think it was possible for it to continue to haunt me. Yet here it was.

I _knew _the scent, but could not place it. It mingled with another that was completely foreign to me. The strange scent was not unpleasant – it was soft, like vanilla, but it did not interest me. It was the unnervingly familiar one I needed to find.

I tracked it through the woods until it led me to a large, wooden house. It was miles from the town, and well hidden from the highway and it was clear from the lack of human scents that the owners did not have visitors. The house itself looked well cared for. It was well lit and one whole side was made completely of glass.

Through the glass, I could see a man, and it all clicked together.

This was the doctor at the clinic, the man who cared for me, the creature who transformed me. It was because of him I had wandered lost and alone for so long. It was because of him I never had a moment of silence to myself thanks to the endless cacophony of human chatter. It was because of him I was trapped in the body of a 17 year old boy for eternity.

Dr. Carlisle Cullen.

Rage overtook me and my body crashed through the glass, aiming to wrap my fingers around his throat and either demand an explanation or rip him apart, I didn't quite know.

My fury blinded me and I did not see the woman until she threw herself at me, knocking me away from my target. I rolled away, hissing and baring my teeth at her. Crouching, I hurriedly recalculated my plan of attack.

The female's mind was strictly on the defensive – she would not attack until I did. The man, too, was not planning an attack, but rather trying to piece together what was happening. Then he got a good look at my face.

"Edward Masen?" He asked incredulously.

I froze and the woman stood. "You know him?"

"You remember me?"

"Edward, of course I remember you."

"You abandoned me," I accused.

"Yes." I hesitated in surprise. His face was mournful and I was caught off guard – I didn't expect him to own up to what he had done. When I did not speak, he continued.

"I did not follow you when I should have. I thought you needed space, or time." He sighed heavily. "By the time I tried to find you, you were gone. I searched for years, but the trail was cold. You were lost."

He stared into my eyes and the last of my anger began to fade. There was no denying that honesty or regret. I tried to cling to my indignation, "Why did you bite me in the first place?"

Another look of pain flashed across his face. '_I don't dare tell him anything but the truth.'_ "I'm not proud of what I did, Edward. But you were dying… and I couldn't stand such a waste. You had so much goodness in you. And I was… very lonely."

He paused and looked at the woman beside him before continuing. "I had been alone for centuries. I acted on an impulse. You can't imagine how it has haunted me all these years."

I couldn't imagine, but I could hear his mind racing through all his failed attempts. I relaxed my stance, unsure of what to do next. I glanced at the window and suddenly felt guilty. "I apologize for the window. I'll repair it," I said gruffly, though I wasn't quite sure how to go about doing so.

"Please," the woman interrupted. "Don't worry about it. I don't blame you one bit for being so angry. And it needed to be replaced soon anyway."

She was lying about replacing it, but I appreciated the gesture.

"Forgive me," Carlisle said, "This is my wife, Esme."

She held out her hand to me, which I shook tentatively. She was a lovely creature, when she wasn't defending her mate, her dark hair framing a pale, heart-shaped face.

'_I hope he doesn't think I'm some horrible, temperamental thing,'_ she worried silently, thinking of our first impressions of one another.

I didn't understand exactly why she had such a violent reaction to protect her mate, but I could not fault her for it. "I don't think you're horrible. Or temperamental," I assured her.

Her eyes widened as she withdrew her hand, "How…?"

I explained to them that I could hear thoughts.

Carlisle nodded contemplatively. _'That's why he believed me so readily.' _"I knew you would be talented. And that explains why you panicked so badly. I heard that the reaction isn't normally so volatile."

"I heard voices in my head, felt the burn in my throat, and didn't know where I was. It seemed only natural for me to run."

"I understand," he said. And he did, too.

And thus began my stay with the Cullens. It was just the two of them, and Esme begged me to stay with them, even if for a short time. I hardly knew her, and yet I hated to let her down. So I stayed.

I also learned that they followed the same diet as Kate and her clan, which is how they managed to fly under the radar in such a small town. They did not push me to do the same, but I could hear their regret every time I went hunting.

So I decided to try it.

I struggled. There was no denying that. But I was determined to see this out.

I hunted with Esme and Carlisle nearly every weekend so that I wouldn't get hungry. I found a sort of twisted joy in hunting cougars, remembering fondly the one that nearly got the better of Garrett. They had good strong blood, too, that made them slightly more palatable.

I also watch the pair interact. It was curious thing, their relationship. It could be summed up in the way that Esme leapt to protect Carlisle that very first day. They lived to protect the other.

I began to wonder if maybe I was missing something. I had dismissed it when I saw it begin with Garrett and Kate, but to see it after years of practice in these two was something else entirely.

Even the way they moved was fascinating, especially when they hunted. Carlisle would take a beast down and wouldn't feed until Esme did. Esme would do the same. Watching them hunt together was like watching an intricate dance, each taking their turn to lead and to follow.

But I remained alone. There were no other vampires nearby, and I did not want any human. I didn't speak to either Carlisle or Esme about my wonderings, afraid that they would either feel guilty for their luck in having one another, or that they would try to find someone for me.

Regardless, they seemed to notice my loneliness. After a few years, Esme suggested I try interacting with humans more, to build up my control, she claimed. Decades had passed since I had been changed, and I _was_ curious to see how much the world had changed without my knowing it, so I enrolled in high school.

It was a completely different experience than from what I had remembered. I recalled a small schoolhouse, with maybe 20 boys. This school was much, much larger, with both boys and girls mixed in an assortment of classes. At first, the smell and noise was so overwhelming that I could only attend a couple periods before having to leave and run off my frustration.

Slowly, very slowly, I began building a tolerance. I still kept my distance from everyone, but I could stand to be in the same room as 25 hormone-ridden teenagers. On the rare occasion, I would meet someone with a particularly sweet scent, but with a simple visit to the office, my schedule was rearranged until I could desensitize myself enough to endure it.

It was a working system and I could feel myself growing stronger. I thrived on the knowledge that I didn't have to kill sentient creatures to survive anymore, and that I could control my own nature.

That is, until Bella Swan moved into town.


	4. Red

**AN: Last chapter, sorry for the delay.**

**Disclaimer: Characters to SMeyer, I'm just playing around.**

**

* * *

**

**Red  
**

Bella Swan quickly drew out my fascination. First, she was simply a puzzle, an enigma to solve. Her mind was closed to me, something I had never before encountered.

Second, she was a possible solution to my unending loneliness. Her silence lent itself to my peace, and the constant guessing would keep me coming back to her.

But lastly, and most importantly, she was a delicious temptation. If I could compare her scent to something before my change, I would say it was like coming home to freshly baked sweet bread, the scent permeating the air so strongly that I could already feel the warm, soft bread on my tongue. But now, it was something sweeter, something that made my throat burn until it could be soothed with the hot liquid.

I will never know how I kept from devouring her the moment I caught her scent. Perhaps it was my own stubbornness to keep my promise to Esme and Carlisle and myself. Perhaps it was sheer dumb luck. Regardless, the girl survived one close call after another until I could no longer ignore the fact that her life was tied to mine.

And once I came to the conclusion that I could not run from her, I also decided that

I must start running towards her. I wanted to have what Esme and Carlisle had…what Garrett and Kate had…what inspired so many artists and songs. This was one mystery that still escaped me, and I could not rest until I unraveled it.

I would have a mate of my own.

I would have to move slowly – her scent made sure of that. I could not be near to her for very long. We no longer shared any classes and the only interaction we had with one another was my saving her from a runaway car. I couldn't read what she thought of me, which also slowed my process somewhat. This was uncharted territory.

I didn't dare ask Esme for advice; she'd get her hopes up and I wouldn't be able to bear letting her down when this turned sour. Carlisle was an option, but I knew he told his mate everything, and didn't want to create secrets between them.

So I was on my own. Hopefully for the last time.

I dug deep into my memory, searching for anything that could be useful. My own human memories were useless, hidden beneath the veil of immortality. Instead, I had to rely on his observations of others.

First, I had to spark her interest. After all, what was the use of an eternal mate that was not interested and interesting?

Bella Swan was never without a book. Before school, during lunch, during breaks, every spare moment found her with a paperback companion. This was my way in.

School was a safe place to approach her. She was familiar with school, and less likely to fear me there. So when I saw her alone before school in the parking lot, I took a deep breath of air untainted by _her_ and seized my chance.

"Bella?" I called gently.

She spun around at the sound of her name and looked at me, curiosity burning in her eyes. "Yes? Are you talking to me now?"

"Sorry?" Now I was the confused one.

"You transferred out my class, looking like it was my fault when you passed me in the hall the day after. You saved my life from Tyler's van, but then never spoke to me again. You act like I don't exist when I tried to talk to you or get your attention. So why now?"

She was feistier than I anticipated. But this was good, this was exciting. Careful not to inhale her scent, I replied, "I apologize for that. It was very rude of me, and I'd like to make it up to you now."

She looked unconvinced.

"I was…having some personal problems at the time that made me…well, me," I continued. "I am sorry."

"Oh," her eyes widened. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize."

"Don't worry about it."

"Now I feel bad," she fretted, "Here I was thinking what a horrible person you were and I didn't really know anything about you. How _stupid_ of me."

"You couldn't have known," I tried to reassure her. I was surprised with how agitated she was over this. "I didn't tell anyone. There was no one way you could have known."

"I could have used my brain," she mumbled. "I should know better than to judge someone I don't know."

"I'll tell you what," I said, grinning softly, "I'll let you make it up to me. You seem to having no troubles with Shakespeare," I gestured towards what was clearly a well-worn copy in her hands, "Help me with it?"

"You don't need my help," she scoffed.

"What makes you say that?"

"My friend Jessica is in the same period you are. She says you never answer a question wrong."

"You were talking about me?"

Her cheeks reddened, and I felt my throat tightened. I needed to escape.

"It was just a passing comment," she tried to bluff, but I could see through her feeble lie. This was good news for me…she was interested.

I thought quickly. I'd have to simply charm her. "Alright, you caught me," I said. "It was just an excuse to talk to you. Now I'll just have to come out and say it: I wanted to get to know you and was trying to be smooth about it." Her cheeks darkened and I continued quickly, "Meet me after school? Out by the picnic tables?"

"Why?"

I turned the full force of my gaze on her, staring into her deep brown eyes. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see."

Her breathing hitched and my throat burned. I could hear the tempo of her heart increase, and it only served to magnify my thirst. I could already see myself hunched over her, my lips on her neck, tasting her sweet, sweet blood -

"Alright," she said, suddenly shy and pulling me from my daydream. "I'll see you after school."

***

The day passed in a blur. This afternoon would shape everything. I would bite her, make her mine, and never be alone again.

Never alone again. The words carried me through class after class and then it was time.

I waited until the school grounds were mostly empty before going to her. I didn't have to wait long; students hurried to escape the confines of the public institution and the parking lot was nearly empty within ten minutes after the final bell.

Again, I took a deep breath before approaching her. I would breathe her in slowly, desensitize myself to the tantalizing scent. She sat on one of the tables, looking up at the cloud-covered sky, her knees drawn under her chin.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," I greeted her.

She jumped at my voice, then smiled back. "I was starting to think you'd changed your mind."

"Never," I grinned and her heart rate increased again. Oh, this would work out very well. "Shall we walk?"

She took my outstretched hand until she was steady on her feet. "Where to?"

Such trusting prey! "I know a path through the woods that I thought would be nice. Does that sound alright to you?"

Laughing sardonically, she said, "As long as you don't mind going slow. I trip a lot."

"Don't worry," I said, "I'll take care of you."

My plan was simple. Deep in the woods, I would bite her, transform her. When she awoke, she would be mine. We would run away from the people she knew, and I would take care of her.

She would be mine.

"How far are we going to walk?"

"Not much further," I said, steadying her as she stumbled over an exposed tree root. "There's a clearing up ahead."

We conversed surprisingly easily as we walked. She asked me what I really thought about the literature we were reading in class and on my own, and she debated the worth of modern literature versus the classics with me, playing devil's advocate whenever she thought she could trap me. It pleased me how intelligent this creature was.

We reached the clearing and I watched her take it all in. She turned back to me with a wide smile on her face. "Edward," she breathed, "this place is beautiful!"

"Yes," I said simply, not taking my eyes from hers.

She blushed again and I instinctively took a step closer to her. I chanced one breath – _so sweet_. I cupped her face in my hand and she closed her eyes. So sweet and so trusting.

"I'd like to try something," I whispered huskily. _I'd like to try to keep you_, is what I didn't say.

"Please," she breathed back.

I leaned in closer, and her hands wound themselves in my shirt. With one of my hands on her cheek and the other around her waist, I pressed my lips to her neck softly. She sighed, and I could _feel_ the rich, red blood coursing through her veins and down my throat. All had to do was bite.

So I did.

There was no black and white anymore; there was only the red of Bella's blood. She cried out, but that was not strong enough to stop the venom pumping from me to her. Her body convulsed as she tried to escape me, but she was not match for my strength.

And her blood! It was sweeter, more delicious than I had imagined. I sucked it from her throat, pulsing with ecstasy at the deliciousness. I only saw red behind my eyelids, I only felt the fire in my throat finally quenched.

There was no stopping me. No stopping _this_.

She was dead before I released her. Dead before I could remember the real reason behind my plan to lure her out here. Dead before I could find my control. Dead.

There would be no mate for me. I stared at her lifeless corpse, limp and pale in my arms, her once lively eyes now glassy and terrified.

And then, like always, everything faded back to black and white, and I was once again on my own.


End file.
